The Saga of the Warriors of Dawn
by Yithril
Summary: FFV fic. The story of the birth of Exdeath and how the original four warriors of Dawn : Kelgar, Galuf, Dorgan, and Zeza come together to bring the evil mage down, as well as their life after their great battle.
1. Chapter 1

**_Prologue - Primordial Twilight_**

When the world was still in its infancy, before man began to roam the lands, there was the Muah forest. Swaying gently in the breeze, the young and sturdy oaks of the forest towered high into the air. The spirits that inhabited the trees were as old as time, and much to the surprise of the creator of the world, they decided to spend their time on the planet as plants. The still of the woods was haunting, a thin mist veiling the deepest mysteries of its depths. The flow of time meant little to the spirits of the trees, as all still seemed to be trapped in the ebb and flow of time, the sky in eternal twilight.

After who knows how long of a time span had passed, the wood nymphs began to appear, children of the Muah forest. They were small timid creatures, some say born from the fallen branches of the oaks. Their job was to care for the forest and to maintain the balance as more and more creatures began to appear on the planet. Preserving the equilibrium was very simple at first, since the woodland animals interacted in a way to preserve the overall balance. However, man was born.

Unlike the other creatures on the planet, man did not seek equilibrium with his surroundings. The trees of the forest were loving at first, looking over the fledgling creatures like proud parents watching their baby's first steps. However as the human thirst for expansion and improvement took root, the trees were alarmed to see expanses of torn down forest and game hunting. What was the creator thinking, bringing these brazen, brash creatures to the gentle lands the trees had come to love?

Besides their thirst for conquest, 'progress' as the humans so optimistically called it, human beings also carried with them rebellion. No, not a rebellion in the sense of a country rebelling against another for some injustice, but more of a rebellion against the code of ethics and laws the trees had always taken for granted. The mortal heart carried with it negative emotions of hate, pride, envy, and greed. Human emotion was so strong it seemed to waft through the air like a bad wind, casting a foul spiritual taint that sadly only the trees of Muah were aware of. This was how 'he' came to be born.

A fledgling sapling born near the heart of the great Muah woods sprouted from the ground and took in its first ray of sunlight. Muah trees are born pure spiritually, but only moments after coming into the world; this sapling had already tasted the taint of the evil in men's hearts. It developed a hunger for the foul miasma, feeding off of the negative energy generated by wars and suffering. Nourishing itself on human despair, the young sapling grew tall like the other trees. However it was twisted and deranged, its trunk gnarled and its branches tangled and withered. The wood nymphs dared not go near this tree, as they could feel the malice emanating from it. This tree was the true form of Exdeath.

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**_Chapter 1 - The beginning of the end_**

The sun rose slowly across the horizon, brilliantly lighting up the sky with its brilliant glow. Rays streaked through Prince Galuf's window, lightly prodding him awake from his slumber. Galuf was a young man of nineteen years of age. It had only been recently that his facial features had begun to set in and he really looked like an adult. Groggily sitting upright, the prince rubbed his eyes and let out a big yawn. Galuf's room was truly fit for royalty. His bed was expansive and fitted with regal purple sheets made of pure silk. The room was mostly filled with knickknacks and trinkets he picked up on stately visits to far away places. Rising from bed and getting dressed, the prince took a moment to enjoy the cityscape view from his window. The kingdom of Bal was one of the largest kingdoms in the world and perhaps the most revered. As far as Galuf was concerned, the allure of his home wasn't how many ships the government had or how many bales of wheat were produced yearly. No, these things were a trifle. What truly made Bal great was that for the last ten years the city was a beacon of peace and understanding, a place other peoples and nations could look to for guidance. Finally dressed and ready to meet the day, Galuf walked downstairs for his daily sword training.

The prince's personal trainer was a rather strict and gruff ex military officer of about sixty five years of age. Galuf never really believed that number, even though his teacher had a full head of silver hair and wrinkled facial features. The reason he never believed the man could be so old was that he still could fight as well as any new recruit, and had the strength and vigor of anyone half his age. Galuf yawned and walked into the courtyard where his trainer was waiting for him.

"It's good to see you're on time for once."

"I'm here I'm here, I still say it's too early for this Reinalt…" said the prince yawning.

"You will call me _master_ Reinalt and may you never forget that," said the trainer, drawing his sword.

Galuf simply chuckled a bit. "No disrespect for the master huh?" thought the young man.

"Let us begin," said Reinalt leveling his sword. Galuf drew his and training soon began. The prince was a renowned swordsman as well as archer, and was quite athletic. Galuf swung his sword expertly, calmly parrying his master's attacks and dishing out many of his own. However, Reinalt still was one above Galuf, as the prince goofed and aimed too high, allowing Reinalt to expertly duck under his blow. Coming up, the master placed his sword near his disciples face. Galuf smiled nervously.

"If this were real you wouldn't be smiling, you'd be shish-kabob…" said Reinalt walking back into position.

"Never underestimate the elderly I always say…" thought Galuf readying himself for the next session of his sparring.

After his morning training session, Galuf made his way towards the banquet hall where he would feast on whatever the chef had prepared for the day. Much to the young royal's dismay, however, Reinalt always insisted on a strict diet. Galuf sat in his chair and pulled up the silver lid, revealing a bowl full of Kelgarian gruel. For those of you who have never had the pure privilege of trying this werewolf delicacy, it is a mix of wheat gruel and chunks of practically raw meat and fish with seasoning. While most Kelgarians enjoy the meal as a staple at breakfast time, human tastes are far different.

"Reinalt insisted on it didn't he?" said Galuf making a face.

Making a face, the prince sighed and looked at the chef who simply shrugged.

"You'll grow strong if you eat it son," said the King who had just entered the banquet hall and seated himself at the opposite end of the long dining table.

Galuf's father was a kind man at heart, and it showed in his soft yet strong gaze. The king was decked out in full regal attire, red satin robe and all.

"Don't tell me you agree with the old codger! This is even fit for people to eat!" complained Galuf sheepishly picking at his meal.

"Whatever he deems fit for your consumption is perfectly fine with me. Besides it'll build character," said the king chuckling.

The queen, flanked by three ladies in waiting, soon appeared and seated herself next to the king. Galuf looked more like his mother than his father. They both shared the same dusty colored hair and piercing hazel eyes.

"It'd be nice if the boy could just eat what he wants some days. He is the prince after all dear," said the queen as she was being served breakfast.

"You'll need the energy son, as we have a very busy schedule ahead of us. We'll be departing for Surgate at high noon. We have that treaty to sign you know…" said the king, but Galuf soon lost interest in the long list of pleasantries and duties. It was at times like these that the prince wondered if he really was cut out for the life of royalty. Sure the mode of living was fantastic, but what a bore!

"Dad hasn't even gone on one adventure since I was ten. I'd go for anything exciting, even if it were something cliché like fighting a fire breathing dragon," thought Galuf.

Finishing his meal in protest, Galuf and his father went outside of the castle and boarded the carriage which was waiting for them. The ride to the docks was rather quiet and pleasant. However the monotonous rolling wheat fields didn't really aid Galuf in his quest for something of interest.

"Maybe Zeza and I can ditch the ceremonies and go exploring or something, I'm sure dad would never notice. He'd probably be too busy making speeches or something," thought Galuf resting his head on his hand, a look of pure disinterest on his face as he watched the rolling scenery.

Prince Zeza and Prince Galuf had been friends since as far back as they could remember. They both usually were too bored with their father's affairs of state and took off on short adventures around Surgate castle. After an hour or so the carriage finally made it to the port where Galuf and his father would sail off to Surgate. Climbing out of the carriage, the king and prince were saluted by loyal soldiers and climbed the ramp onto the boat. Galuf liked sailing the most out of any mode of travel because it reminded him of all the books about famous explorers he read as a child. The wind was perfect for sailing, and the smell of salt water refreshed the young prince's senses. At full mast, the ship left the dock and made it's way towards Surgate.

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Elsewhere in the great forest of Muah, a group of wood nymphs were huddled around in a circle. Looking on at the tainted tree, they were overcome with fear and terror as they could feel the tree changing forms. A sickening gray haze, almost like thin smoke, began to billow from the roots of the tree. The forest seemed to freeze, the air not picking up and not a sound being made. The form of the tree changed. The branches coalesced into arms, the roots unearthing themselves from the ground turned to legs, and the trunk became the body. Within minutes, the forest was filled with a blinding flash, causing all of the nymphs to cover their eyes. Everything was silent for only a moment, until a low, cackling laugh could be heard. Where the tree had formerly been, now stood a humanoid figure wearing a flowing dark purple cape and mask.

"I am war. I am hatred. I am pain. I…." muttered the strange figure, holding his newly formed hands in front of him.

"I am Exdeath," he said in a cold and chilling tone of voice.

The wood nymphs were frozen in fear as they looked on helplessly. Each of them knew the gravity of what was happening. Exdeath looked up at the sky, his senses sharp and finely tuned. Looking around, he began to eye the wood nymphs and chuckled to himself darkly. The nymphs immediately began to run away, fearing for there very lives. Sadly, no matter how fast they could run nothing would save them. Dark tendrils of pure miasma erupted from the inner folds of Exdeath's cloak and slithered along the floor of the forest. The first unfortunate wood nymph hardly had time to yell out as a tendril grabbed his right leg, and with nearly unnatural speed, he was sucked back towards Exdeath. Before being engulfed within the folds of Exdeath robes, the wood nymph saw a truly terrible sight. No, nothing like hell fire or demons or anything of that sort. The nymph literally saw nothing, an empty, quiet, painful void of nothingness. Clawing at the ground, the poor nymph was sucked into a void, a realm of non-existence. Soon the rest of the nymphs were sucked in as well, clawing and yelling out for someone to save them from being trapped in eternal darkness. However Exdeath was a being without mercy, without remorse, and swallowed each of them up for possibly all eternity.

"I…I will erase existence…" breathed Exdeath through mask. The forest was silent, out of fear more than anything else.


	2. Chapter 2

The ship pulled into harbor, its great masts billowing in the wind. The sailors aboard were all busy making preparations to dock near Surgate. The King was inside the ship, while Galuf much preferred to be on the deck helping the sailors.

"I guess the young man has sea water in his veins," thought the King, who was doing some last minute document reading before he met with the king of Surgate.

Galuf didn't mind working with the other sailors. In fact he relished the experience to do some manual labor, instead of being pampered in the castle. The seas were restless and churning, the frothy waves lapping on the ships deck every now and again. When his muscles burned and ached, when sea water got in his hair, when the noise of seagulls could be heard, these were the times that Galuf truly felt alive. The captain, looking through a telescope, caught sight of land and ordered his crew to get ready to arrive at port.

The ship finally docked and the anchor was weighed. A band was already waiting at the dock to welcome the King of Bal. As he and Galuf were walking onto the port flanked by an entourage of diplomats and other royals, the band began to play a very regal and official melody. While the king seemed to be enjoying himself, chatting with the diplomats from Surgate and performing other such pleasantries, Galuf looked out at the open sea.

"Don't stand there with that blank expression son, we must head to the castle so we can see the royal family," said the king, lightly prodding his son on the shoulder.

"Oh, yeah dad, coming." Galuf was the type of person easily susceptible to the allure of staring off into space.

The royal entourage climbed into their carriages and made their way towards the castle. Everything seemed to move like clockwork, like all official visits usually did. Galuf had to make small talk with many of the Surgate diplomats, who all dispensed with the usual pleasantries such as "the prince is getting taller every year" or "how is your sword training going?" Galuf simply answered these questions rather mechanically; he had developed practice doing it after so many years. Finally the carriages were outside of Castle Surgate, and the King and prince were led inside the great hall of the castle.

The King, Queen, and Prince of Surgate were waiting diligently at the entrance. Both Kings embraced each other wholeheartedly.

"Tazar, I haven't seen you in ages. Nor have I had the privilege to see your lovely wife Anastasia," remarked the King, lightly kissing the Queen on the hand.

"You flatter me King Zan", said the Queen laughing.

King Zan then walked over to the young prince Zeza and put his hands lightly on the boys shoulders. Zeza was two years younger than Galuf, and had short cut black hair parted straight down the middle. He was always a rather sturdy young man, and always seemed to be prepared for whatever social situation might arise.

"Prince Zeza it is good to see you again. You've grown at least a foot since my last visit. You've already started growing a beard, you'll be an old man like myself and your father in no time," said King Zan beaming. Zeza simply smiled and took the compliment. Galuf and Zeza simply gave each other a brief look, each knowing just how the other felt.

After pleasantries were done, both Kings retired deep into the castle, while Galuf and Zeza slipped away. The prince's had been best friends since early childhood, and while they had not seen each other in many, many years, they acted as if they had been around each other since forever.

"I thought we'd never get out of there," remarked Galuf, scratching the back of his head.

"You're always too anxious, Galuf. Our fathers were simply happy to see each other. Besides, we have plenty of time to goof off while they do that whole 'being royal' spiel."

"Well Zeza what is there interesting to do around Surgate?"

"Hmm, we could always visit town square and see what is going on there. I'm sure there is a wandering minstrel or some act we could go see."

"Well I guess, maybe we'll catch wind of something exciting."

"You're always sticking your nose in trouble Galuf…" smirked Zeza, leading his friend into town.

Between the two of them, Galuf was by far the more adventurous. Zeza didn't mind a little monotony to life, because after all, excitement can shorten one's lifespan. Besides Zeza hadn't seen Galuf in such a long time, it might be nice just to hang out for a bit before Galuf had to return home to Bal. The boys had finally made it into the village near the castle, and walked around. The town square was alive with people that day. There were merchants selling their wares from wooden stalls, jugglers and minstrels performing, and even a group of contortionists arranging themselves into a human pyramid.

"I didn't think the human body could bend that way…" said Galuf, turning his head to try and make sense of the shape one of the contortionists bent themselves into.

"Wonders never cease, believe me. I'm used to it though; I've seen the act before."

Galuf quickly grew bored with the activities at town square, and was itching to do something adventurous. Then the idea hit him.

"Isn't there some forest around here where there are supposed to be man sized boars?"

"Man sized boars? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Yeah, I heard one of the minstrels singing about it in Bal. They say that in Surgate forest lurks a mighty boar which no man can run down. Its tusks are like swords and its skin is like plate mail."

"That's just like you, to fall for the ramblings of a minstrel. How do you think they make their money? By singing about everyday life? What a grand score that would make! Tales of washing in the bathtub! The joy of paying bills!" chuckled Zeza lightheartedly.

"Well, why don't we go and see who is the one telling tall tales, that is, if you aren't too afraid to go…" said Galuf shrugging his shoulders. If there was anything Zeza did not like, it was being called a coward. This simple yet effective manipulation was one of many tricks Galuf usually kept up his sleeve.

"You're on then…" retorted Zeza, not wanting to seem cowardly in front of his friend.

The two princes immediately left the village and headed down a beaten path leading into Surgate Forest. The overhang of evergreen and maple trees blocked out most of the sunlight. Galuf, eager to get his adventure off to a good start, stood on a massive boulder and tried to look around to catch sight of any boars. Zeza didn't so much enjoy wandering around in the woods since it was usually fairly dark and gloomy.

"I don't see any man sized boars Galuf…they shouldn't be hard to spot."

"Maybe it's sleeping…"

"And what will you do if you were to wake it from its slumber?"

"Why, I'd take my long sword out and give it a good thrashing. Then I'd pierce its skin and bring it home for dinner!" exclaimed the boisterous young lad, waving his long sword in the air.

"I thought its skin was made of plate mail and its tusks as large as swords?"

"Well then, maybe I'll just have to settle for a regular boar then."

Just as Galuf jumped off the boulder he was on, a loud roar reverberated throughout the forest. The birds took flight, and the smaller creatures darted to and fro looking for shelter.

"What…what is going on Galuf?"

"I don't know. Sounded like the cry of an animal…"

"That isn't…oh my god run! It's a werewolf!"

The color in Zeza's face disappeared when he saw a large wolf man bound out of the darkness of the woods. Its mouth was foaming and its eyes blood red. Growling and snarling, the large monster charged towards the two boys. Galuf and Zeza broke into a sprint, running for their lives away from the murderous beast. Being the more athletic of the two, Galuf was way ahead and was nearing the exit to the forest. However his friend wasn't faring so well, and was about to be overtaken by the blood crazed werewolf.

"Galuf help!" cried out Zeza, nearly without hope.

Just as the beast was about to pounce on the hapless prince, another werewolf leaped out of the brush and tackled it onto the ground. The two beasts wrestled each other, gnashing and clawing. Galuf motioned for Zeza to get moving, and both princes quickly left the forest with their lives intact.

"Gods that was close," panted Zeza, bending over to catch his breath.

"I wasn't expecting a werewolf that's for sure. And a wild one at that! I thought most had become civilized awhile ago…"

"Well, it looks like one of them has found their roots. Chalk one up for bad luck Galuf. Let's just get back quickly, I've had enough excitement for one day," said Zeza, finally regaining his composure and the color in his face.

Meandering along the path with his companion in tow, Galuf looked out at the horizon towards the town and noticed that the sound of minstrels and performers could no longer be heard. In fact, when he took a closer look, he found that there was little movement about the town at all.

"Zeza we have to hurry, I think something is very wrong. C'mon!"

Zeza simply sighed heavily and ran down the path with his friend, hoping above all hope that maybe Galuf was just imagining things. Sadly, the carnage that was waiting for the princes was no ones imagination. The citizenry of the town had mostly fled by now, and the only people left were mauled and mangled lying on the ground. Zeza and Galuf just stood wild eyed at the scene, unable to believe their eyes. Most of the stalls and set ups for the merchants lay broken on the ground, and large claw marks could be seen on the walls of buildings.

"What happened here…" choked Zeza, unable to maintain his composure.

Both princes were soon met with the answer as three snarling werewolves appeared and slowly began to encircle the two princes. Their fangs were dripping with gore and their claws were soaked in it. Galuf drew his sword, but knew he was no match for the enraged animals.


	3. Chapter 3

The werewolves encircled the princes, saliva dripping down their menacing fangs. Galuf felt his body flooding with adrenaline, his skin perking up at the slightest sensation. Zeza, on the other hand, could not move, let alone speak, as he was too overcome with fear to function at all. Wasting no time, one of the werewolves leapt forward, its vicious claws extending outward to slice into its prey. Galuf gritted his teeth and was about to swipe at the beast with his sword when a silverback werewolf came bounding in from the forest and tackled the oncoming one to the ground. The two beasts wrestled, biting and clawing incessantly at the other.

"I'm not sure what's going on but we best get going while they're distracted!" exclaimed Galuf as he grabbed his hapless friend by the arm and bolted away. Unfortunately for them, the other two werewolves decided to chase after them.

"Get moving its right behind us!" cried out Galuf as he urged Zeza to run faster. Running past a pile of barrels, Galuf ran to the side of the stack and kicked out one of the bottom barrels, causing the rest to roll and fall. This proved to be a decent diversion, as one of the werewolves nimbly dodged several of the barrels only to get knocked out by a rather large one.

"Well that takes care of one!' yelled out Zeza as he continued to run, the other werewolf still hot in pursuit.

Not taking any time to relish their small victory, the princes sprinted out of the city and into the forest. The town was situated atop a very large hill overlooking the Surgate river. Galuf bounded down the steep hill using large boulders to support his weight as he hopped to and fro. Zeza was having a much harder time as he slowly inched his way down, only to slip on a patch of moist dirt and tumble down. Galuf immediately turned around and caught his friend before he hit something sharp or hard and hurt himself.

"When we get back I'm sending you to see Reinalt, he'll whip you into shape in no time."

"Once we descend down this hill we should come to a river. The bridge shouldn't be far from there, and then we can take the main road back to Surgate castle," replied Zeza dusting himself off.

"Oh geez you're bleeding Zeza!" said Galuf as he parted back his friends hair, revealing a nasty looking gash on the right side of his forehead.

"It's nothing. The clerics can mend it as soon as we get back…what was that noise?"

Galuf and Zeza looked up horrified as the werewolf came bounding down the hill looking angrier than before. Not wasting any time, the princes bounded down the hill as fast as their legs could carry them. They both soon reached the base of the hill near the banks of the great Surgate river. The werewolf was also right behind, slowly advancing on the two boys.

"I thought you said there was a bridge here!" lamented Galuf as he scanned the locale for one.

"We just have to keep moving. It's near here I'm sure of it," replied Zeza, blood still oozing slowly from his forehead.

"There it is, I see it! C'mon, we have to hurry," yelled Galuf as he tried to help Zeza as best he could.

The werewolf finished bounding down the hill, and landed right in front of the two princes just as they were about to reach t he bridge. Galuf had never seen a werewolf up close before, and thought to himself how he never wanted to again. Its fangs were yellow and crusted over, its fur matted and blood soaked, its eyes focused on its prey. Galuf extended his sword and swiped at the beast a few times, only to have his weapon slapped away by the animal's claws. The young prince's short life flashed before his eyes as the beast lunged straight for his throat, only to be knocked away by the same silverback werewolf from earlier. Galuf and Zeza both fell to the ground, stiff from fear. The silverback finished off his quarry quickly with several well aimed bites to the neck, and then turned its attention on the princes.

"Oh god…" whined Zeza as he felt his death was soon to come.

"I'm not going to hurt you…" snarled the silverback as it looked upwards at the village.

"You…can…talk?" asked Galuf, opening his eyes.

"Of course I can!" The silverback began to shudder and waver, like the surface of water when a rock hits it, and transformed into a bipedal form. The princes simply let out a sound of wonderment as the silverback transformed into a wolf man dressed in regal looking clothing.

"I didn't know werewolves could do that!" exclaimed Galuf as he examined the wolf man.

"Who are you?" asked Zeza.

"I am called Kelgar, silverback of the Lupinus tribe," remarked Kelgar, his voice a gruff mixture of wolf and man. Galuf was taken aback by Kelgar's appearance. On the one hand, he did have indeed human looking eyes and facial features, but he also had a snout and wickedly sharp looking claws.

"You attacked our village!" accused Zeza as he quickly lost control of his emotions.

"We did no such thing, I assure you. We wolves have been living in peace with your kind for many years now. I came here because several of my kin had become crazed and broke off from the pack." Kelgar had a deathly serious and straight-to-the point manner about him that was entirely devoid of emotion.

"Well a lot of innocent people were hurt because you couldn't keep your own kind in check!" yelled out Galuf as he grabbed Kelgar by the scruff of his shirt.

"Your anger aside I think the first priority here is to check on your village and see how much damage they caused. Now unhand me…" snarled Kelgar as he pushed Galuf aside. Zeza and Galuf simply gave each other a glance and followed behind Kelgar back up the hill and into the village.

"You said your people became 'crazed'? When did this happen?" asked Zeza as the group reentered the village.

"It was recently that they lost control of their Lupus and began to rage out of control."

"What is a 'lupus'?" asked Galuf.

"There is no concept in your culture that could be considered equivalent. It is our soul as wolves, our connection to nature. Every werewolf maintains control over the wolf side of them. If they can't…well…you end up with this…"

"These people…" choked Zeza as he surveyed the village. The town had been decimated by the werewolves. The mangled corpses of the unfortunate were strewn around the ground, their faces and bodies marred by claw and teeth marks. It seemed the beasts left no stone unturned, as even people who tried to hide away in the houses were hunted down. Galuf looked everywhere to try to find any survivors, hoping upon hope someone made it through the ordeal alive.

"You followed them here then, once you found out they couldn't control the wolf side of them anymore?" said Galuf gravely as he took stock of the situation. Zeza couldn't find the composure to speak, and instead wept. The village he had known since he was a boy now lied in ruin, picked clean by wild animals.

"Yes I was able to track their scent here. I did not know what they would do once they completely lost control of themselves, so I thought it best to find them and eliminate them as quickly as possible."

Galuf walked over to Zeza and laid a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Kelgar simply turned around and changed forms back into his wolf shape.

"There may be more, and if so I intend to find them. I suggest you alert your leaders as to what has happened here. I wish you luck," the wolf said as he bounded off into the forest.

"Some trip this turned out to be," thought Galuf as he tried his best to comfort Zeza.

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"We must seek action against them immediately! This is an open act of war!"

"We must think of the families of the village, who will rebuild?"

"We can't be thinking of war at this time, our soldiers are spread out thin as it is!"

The council of ministers in Surgate was abuzz with shouting and yelling, as the ministers were in an uproar over the massacre in the village. Galuf simply sat next to his father, looking on dejectedly at the proceedings. Zeza was on the other side of the table sitting besides his father, his face downcast and his eyes glazed over as if he were in another world.

"Order, order!" exclaimed Jardek, the royal councilor, banging a large wooden orb on the table.

"All I'm saying, is that this could've been a ruse set up by the werewolves to start open warfare against us!" cried out one of the ministers, getting to his feet and gesturing wildly with his hands.

Galuf tuned out the rest of the proceedings as he often did at home. His entire trip to Surgate had been ruined by the crisis that was now overtaking the kingdom. No doubt his father would have to help out the King of Surgate, and Galuf wouldn't see him for most likely weeks. Then there was Zeza.

"He still hasn't snapped out of it since we got back to the Castle," thought Galuf as he looked on at his friend, who seemed so disconnected from the world around him.

"I know if Baal were hit like this I'd feel exactly the same way. And I still don't know if we can trust that Kelgar. He did save us though…"

Galuf waited patiently until the meeting had been adjourned and retired to his room. Night had fallen over Surgate, but Galuf could not rest his mind. He made his way down the hallway from his quarters over to Zeza's room and knocked on the door.

"Zeza…hey Zeza are you in there?" There was no reply.

"Alright I'm coming in anyway," said Galuf as he opened the door to find his friend curled up on a chair looking out over Surgate.

"You can't mope forever you know."

"Just leave me alone."

"I'm not. You can't just stay in here and mope you know. Now I know your father said they'd be sending out scouts to investigate, but we both know we can't just sit around and wait for things to happen. You have to make them happen."

Zeza didn't reply, but instead continued looking out the window towards the great forest. He was happy to have Galuf as a friend, but now he really didn't have the patience for him. Galuf had all but given hope of trying to rally his friend into action, when he caught sight of something moving rooftop to rooftop towards their window.

"What the…" said Zeza as he got up to stand by the window.

A shadowy creature leaped up and landed on the prince's windowsill. It had claws and was draped in a dark cloak covering the body and head.

"I think there is something you two should see," said the figure, pulling back his cloak and revealing himself as Kelgar.

"Kelgar!" exclaimed Galuf pointing, only to be shushed by the cloaked wolf man.

"Silence or I'll be found out. I came here to show you both something strange that has been happening in the forest."

"How'd you know we were here?" asked Zeza quizzically.

"I recognized you, prince Zeza, of course!"

"And why are we to see it and not the king? I'm sure father…"

"There's no time, and besides, I imagine everyone in the castle is wary of werewolves. I should think that they would not listen to us at a time like this. Now get your things, and I will meet you by the pond not too far down the road from your castle gate. Make haste!" Kelgar turned around, covered himself up with his cloak and leapt downwards, nimbly bounding out of the city.

"You heard him Zeza, let's get a move on…" said Galuf picking up his friend.

"But I…"

"Listen to me, Zeza. We've got to take this chance to do something for Surgate, and for the people who were attacked in that village. We can't just stand around. Are you with me or not?"

Zeza looked into Galuf's eyes and found assurance in his friends conviction to do what is right.

"It's good to have you as a friend. Now let's go."

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"Good, you're here." Kelgar had been hiding in the reeds near the pond by the castle so as to escape detection. Galuf and Zeza walked up to Kelgar dressed in whatever armor they could find.

"Where are we going?" asked Galuf.

"We need to head into the forest; there is something you need to see. Quickly!"

The three stalked their way into the forest. The darkness made it difficult for Zeza and Galuf to follow Kelgar, but they managed to keep up. As they continued into the heart of the forest, a thin mist sprang up and covered the ground. The trees seemed to grow taller and the air had a sense of magic in it.

"Where exactly are we headed to?" asked Zeza a bit nervously.

"We're heading into the true heart of the forest, locked away by our kind to keep it safe."

Eventually Kelgar stopped and motioned with his hands towards a clearing in the thickness of the brush.

"Why did we stop?"

"We are here, the hidden temple of the Earth crystal."

Galuf and Zeza looked on in wonderment at the glen they had just entered. The air had a refreshing moisture to it that clung to their skin, as well as the unmistakable fragrance of lilacs. In the center of the glade atop a pedestal was a small prism like crystal that emitted a faint green glow across the glade.

"We've truly entered a holy place…" remarked Zeza in awe of his surroundings.

Galuf walked over to the crystal and gazed at it, but noticed a large crack in it.

"The crystal its…" said Galuf.

"Breaking," said Kelgar gravely.


End file.
